MONDAY MIX – 1/22/18

A few years ago, I attended a conference presentation during which audience members were asked to construct a metaphor to represent our experiences as students. No one had ever asked me to do this, so I was intrigued, but pretty stumped. Then I remembered my old boom box, with its radio and dual cassette deck–I always kept a blank tape handy, ready to press “record” whenever something caught my ear. I realized that I did the same in the classroom, gathering bits and pieces from various sources, often without an idea of how–or even if!–those pieces would fit together. That was the joy of making and sharing mix tapes; when crafted thoughtfully, they were greater than the sum of their parts.

In that same spirit, I share a weekly “mix” of articles, recipes, book recommendations, and ideas in the hopes that something I share might fit into your own personal, ever-evolving collage.

Have something you think I might be interested in? I’d love to hear about it. Share it here.

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-I love everything about this: Jennifer Mendelsohn is a freelance journalist who uses historical documents point out the hypocrisy of public figures who display anti-immigrant sentiment. She is also the creator of the hashtag #resistancegenealogy and MY NEW HERO. Read this wonderful interview with her (and h/t to my friend Valerie for passing it along!)

-Related: Grace Chin is an artist who makes beautiful things out of paper and once sent me a complimentary piece of her work to hang in my classroom. She’s also a self-described intersectional feminist and has some real smart things to say in this piece, “Do Artists and Designers Have an Obligation To Be Political?”

“In our capitalist, consumer-driven economy, the prospect of saying something divisive is daunting to artists whose livelihoods depend on a loyal following. We’ve been fooled into thinking that artists are beholden to their audiences, but the opposite should be true. Art is disruption. Art is seeing opportunities to intervene in the surrounding world and daring to imagine it differently, rather than accepting it as it is. Good art pushes the boundaries of public opinion, leading it to greater knowledge and greater empathy. Artists have that power; we should own it.”

-If you know me, you know that I believe in poems; this is a particularly beautiful one, and thanks to the American Academy of Poets, you can listen to it being read aloud by the author, which is one of the best things in the world.